I was thinking the same, my grandad always gave me bronze coloured chrysanths for my birthday in mid November, this was about 50 years back, and I'd love to grow them now. Most places only sell the spray types now. I did an internet search and found Chrysanthemums Direct, so am going to give them a go.

I grow about 12 plants in the allotment as my wife looks after the decorations in our church,if it was not for her I would't be bothered as they are a pain, this year I was careless with staking them and they flopped all over the place!

The originals came from Chrys Direct some years ago, cost about £25 for 10 as far as I remember!

I grow dahlias and chrysanthemums on the allotment. Most of them were sourced from Halls of Heddon (in Heddon on the Wall, near Newcastle). I used to dig out the tubers and store them over winter, and do root cuttings in the spring. But in recent years I've left them in the ground, mulching them with horse poo or wood chippings.

Rather to my surprise, most of the dahlias have survived, but all of the chrysanthemums have perished. I think of chrysanthemums as being hardier - the frost doesn't destroy them quite so instantaneously. But I'm guessing that it's the damp that has wiped them out.

I still have, I think, 17 surviving dahlia plants. Between them this year they must have produced thousands of blooms, and are still at it as we enter the last week of October. Once we've filled the house from a car boot full of dahlias twice a week, others go on to a table in the lane outside our house, with a scribbled invitation for people to choose 3 for a pound. So far nearly £300 in coins has come through our letter box this year, which goes to pay for the allotment rents and lots of seeds and stuff for next year....

have grown chrysanths on my allotment for many years and always take my own cuttings.when i need to update or get a new variety i turn to either chrysanthemums direct or woolmans.i have found that marshalls seeds do good bargains with their collections of chrysanths.